2009

Anand Limaye of Indian Printing Works in Mumbai is a book printer and publisher. Every year during the festival season, he is "super-duper busy" with Diwali Anks, the bumper-size magazines published in Marathi during Diwali, featuring literary writings and ads in equal measure. "This year, instead of 19 Diwali Anks, we have printed 11," Limaye said.

Three days before I sat down to write this blog post, I finished reading Drama High by Michael Sokolove. I clutched the book to my heart, and thought, no one will ever see books like this again.

Then I mentally slapped myself. I had slipped into traditional writer think.  Read more

Former U.S. President Barack Obama just published his memoir two days ago, and already it's on track to become the bestselling presidential memoir of all time. But how does it compare to other memoirs and other books?

Espionage has been called the second oldest profession, and with good reason. Sun Tzu's The Art of War, a famous textbook on waging an effective war, devoted a great deal of significance to espionage and the creation of a secret spy network. All warfare is deception, he stated, and "Be subtle!  Read more

Though there were four debuts on the Booker shortlist, it's been more than a decade since a debut won. And with two magisterial novels from established writers in Maaza Mengiste's The Shadow King and Tsitsi Dangarembga's This Mournable Body on the list, first-timer Douglas Stuart's success may come as a surprise.  Read more